Kiitsu
by Flora Lis
Summary: Just a drabble.  Focuses on Annie/Auggie, but only as good friends.  Oneshot.  R&R, please...


"Well then, Lady-of-the-hour, would you do me the honor of accompanying me for drinks?" Auggie Anderson wanted Annie to come for more than just a ride. He truly enjoyed her company.

"I'd be delighted. Can't stay long, though, I promised my nieces I'd play Clue with them."

"'Stas did it, in the Subway, with a Handgun' type of thing?" He flashed her the smile she'd come to recognize as the one which accompanied his sillier jokes.

"Exactly that type of thing." Even though he couldn't see it, he could hear the smile in her voice. "Guess I'm driving."

"Well, I'd be willing to drive you if you _wanted_ me too…"

"No, no, I think I've got this one." She inserted her hand into the crook of his arm so that he wouldn't have to use the plastic cane, something she knew annoyed him after getting used to the laser one. She led him through the CIA headquarters; even though he knew his way around enough to not really need her until they reached the flux of the parking lot, he enjoyed not having to think about where he was walking, enjoyed just relaxing and trusting her to lead him. Auggie had missed having friends who accepted him for who he was ever since the grenade, and Annie was the first in a long time around whom he felt completely comfortable.

When they finally reached the tavern, they each ordered their favorite drink and settled into comfortable chatter. It was mostly about Annie's family, but Auggie did share a little bit about his hometown. He was very a very animated storyteller, and Annie found herself laughing nearly constantly through his narrative. They didn't dare talk about their work while in the tavern, but when Auggie accepted her offer to drive him home, talk in the car turned a bit more serious.

"You mentioned some things on the way to _illegally_ breaking into the medical examiner's, but would you tell me again how you knew Stas wasn't really Stas? Something about Histonian words?"

Annie didn't feel pride at having put together the pieces before anyone else, it had never occurred to her, but Auggie's voice intimated that he thought highly of her intuitive leaps. Maybe if she'd been blind she would have picked up on his tone. "He called me _kiitsu_. It's a Histonian word, something which is used in small, southern villages. Not in Moscow."

"What's it mean?"

Annie blushed. _Glad it's dark out,_ she thought, before remembering he'd not have been able to see it anyway. "'Kitten'. He used it as a term of endearment."

"Kitten…" Auggie's voice trailed off as his face slid into a personal smile. He recalled the _click, click, click_ of her heels as she walked out to contact Stas. Her kitten heels. "You know, he had you there."

"What?"

"You're very much like a kitten. You seem small, vulnerable, maybe even weak. Until you scratch up the sofa and leave a trail of shredded stuffing in your wake, that is." Annie snorted. "It's true. People like you immediately, want to take care of you, and yet you're perfectly capable of handling yourself. It's a kitten thing."

Annie actually laughed. "Auggie, I think it's best you never went the author route. Your analogies are weak." Her tone softened the words.

Auggie merely shrugged. A comfortable silence ensued, but Auggie only let it last a few minutes before he said, "So, are you at all worried about the fact that you still haven't asked my address?"

"No." She paused. "I'm not a field agent for nothing, you know."

"You looked up my address?" Auggie's voice was slightly higher than normal, not sure if he should be surprised or annoyed, and managing to feel only bemused.

"Yep. After you did such a rousing imitation of a corpse, I just had to make sure you weren't an actor in a past life or anything."

"Uh-huh." His voice was laden with sarcasm, but he was having a hard time keeping himself from laughing. "And what did you find?"

Her car pulled up alongside his driveway. "For starters, I found out that this is your home. Goodnight, Auggie."

"Goodnight." Auggie was curious to see what she'd dug up, but knew he'd get nothing out of her. Not then, at least. "I'll see you tomorrow. You think 'Thursday at the agency' is tough, wait 'til you try 'Friday at the agency'." He winked on his way out, carefully circling her car, and stepping off the driveway and onto the sidewalk.

Annie rolled down her window. "If you talk to Kate anytime soon, make sure to tell her I said hi!" She called after him, referencing the girl he'd taken to prom all those years ago. She'd obviously looked up more than his address. Auggie paused for a fraction of a second before continuing on toward his front door, just enough to let Annie know she had him. Maybe she was like a kitten after all. They liked to mess with things.


End file.
